When people drive erratically, it’s not always just because they want to live dangerously, they’re driving under the influence or they’re running from the law. Sometimes people have medical conditions that mimic similar behaviors of people who are under the influence causing police officers to feel as though they are in physical danger when stopping a person who might actual be suffering a traumatic medical event. It is important for Police officers and peace officers of all kinds to be trained to recognize medical symptoms that mimic those of people under the influence to avoid situations such as the case highlighted in today’s news about a police officer who used a stun gun on a 78-year-old diabetic man. This situation might have been avoided if the officer had some training to recognize the signs and symptoms of various medical conditions that could lead to a potentially deadly outcome. Individuals who are deaf are certain to be mistaken for a belligerent drunk or just being plain defiant.

Everyone knows the saying “Never judge a book by its cover”. We should all work hard to follow that statement. Each life was given for a purpose and I’m certain that it wasn’t to be accidentally shot down or suffer a medical incident that one may not recover from all because of a simple medical condition unknown to an officer. Everyone needs to work together to prevent tragedy and the best way to do that is by learning as much as one can when we working in the service industry to recognize as many medical conditions as possible. Yes, this means that people have to know more than they already know, but in the end this will aid us all in the prolonging of life.

I live for the moment that we don’t hear another story about an unnecessary death.